How should I prep for a color change over existing good paint?

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One of the automotive shows said put two clear coats on thinned as directed and two thinned down just a bit more. They claimed not to have to cut and buff it that way. I'm just repeating what I saw, I've never tried it that way yet.
 
Righty Tighty said:
Thanks guys. The instructions for the base said 3-4 coats, so I decided on 3 for the jambs and I'll probably do at least 4 for the exterior The clear said 2 coats, so that's what I did.

Should I have been more hesitant to lay the clear down? It was actually surprisingly easy.
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No...you did a nice job from what I can see in the pic. Don't try to make it shine with the first coat of clear. Just get enough on to cover well. 2nd coat, increase your overlap to about 75% and slow down just a teeny bit. Be careful on edges and curves and always work towards your wet edge of the paint. I don't stop on the gap of a panel, like between the door and fender. I start at the bottom and work my way up and go 6 or 8 inches over onto the adjacent panel. When I started doing that, I stopped getting little runs on gaps. You don't really have to cross back over the gap when you move to the next panel as long as you keep moving and don't let the wet edge dry out. You'll do fine, since the jambs look as good as they do.
 
Ahh, I understand now! Thanks for the tips. I did get one small run on the clearcoat, but luckily it's in a spot that won't be noticed.
 
Finished the door and fender yesterday,and it was a scramble. My neighbor had to leave town for a work event, so I was rushing to get the door put together last minute. The paint turned out okay, a little bit of orange peel and a couple small runs. As mentioned, proper lighting would've helped tremendously, I think.

I'll cut & buff to make it pretty. Unfortunately I didn't have time to blend the panels, but I think the color looks pretty darn close. I'll post pictures of the final product when I can. Here are some pics right after I finished shooting clear.

For anyone reading and learning, DON'T HALF *** YOUR MASKING JOB. Mask EVERYTHING. I was surprised at the places overspray turned up.

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Color match looks pretty dang good! The runs will sand out of the clear pretty easy. There's good how to videos on You Tube. A lot of people use glazing putty to cover them, which keeps the sanding block smooth and flat while sanding them out. The moment the putty disappears, switch to a much finer sandpaper. Then cut and buff the whole shebang. You did a dang good job for your first time. If you don't get a little run every now and then....you ain't tryin hard enough...lol.

:thumbsup:
 
Thanks! I appreciate all the help. I like the glazing putty idea, will hit YT for some videos.
 
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